The Greek prime minister’s office on Sunday issued a statement saying that any talk about an exchange of the two Greek soldiers for the eight Turkish servicemen who are granted asylum is unacceptable.

The statement came after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Turkish television that if Greece extradites the eight soldiers who participated in the failed coup of 2016, then Ankara will release the two Greek soldiers who are jailed in Edirne since they strayed into Turkish territory on March 1 during a border patrol.

“Regarding to reports of an exchange, or the equation of the issue of the two Greek soldiers with other issues, we emphasize once again that it is unacceptable and therefore rejected,” the Maximos Mansion official statement said.

“From the Turkish president’s statements yesterday we keep the positive elements: his shift towards peace in the Aegean and the support for dialogue between the two countries on important sectors, among which is security,” it said.

The statement also said that in par with president Erdogan’s statement, Turkey’s provocations in the Aegean should stop.